Marvin Salenger

“What’s fascinating about the type of work we do is, just think of someone who’s poor, or disabled, or worse—and how are they going to be compensated for their injuries? Doctors and hospitals have access to the best lawyers money can buy. How is this poor person with limited resources going to get compensated?”

Simply put, Marvin Salenger is one of the most highly regarded personal injury litigators in New York. Most recently he was named “2018 Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs” in the New York Metropolitan Area” by Best Lawyers(r). In 2012, his was the cover photo of the New York Metro Super Lawyers magazine insert in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and Marvin has been ranked among the top 100 on the Super Lawyer list for the New York Metro region in what is likely the country’s most highly competitive arena.

As one admiring competitor wrote in support of Marvin for the New York Super Lawyer list, “He has extremely polished courtroom skills and has any jury eating out of the palm of his hand. Marvin is a very dangerous adversary.”

Fierce in his convictions, imposing in stature, Marvin is compassionate, generous, patient and accessible to his clients. A big personality who prefers to share the credit of his many accomplishments with his team at Salenger, Sack, Kimmel & Bavaro, Marvin Salenger is passionate about fighting for the underdog, in part because he’s been there.

Money was always scarce in the Salenger household during Marvin’s childhood in Brownsville, Brooklyn. His chronically ill mother struggled to raise her three children single handedly, and their tenuous situation worsened when 9-year old Marvin was struck by rheumatic fever. Severely ill and unable to walk, Marvin was confined to his family’s apartment and schooled at home for two and a half years.

The challenges of his early years left Marvin determined to help others like his family—good people living on the edge. Working by day and attending school at night, Marvin earned a teaching degree. He accepted a Social Studies position in Brownsville at one of the most troubled junior high schools in New York City, even though he had also been offered a more prestigious position in Bayside. “I wanted to change the world,” explains Marvin.

Realizing that he could effect change in the courtroom, Marvin earned his JD by night at Brooklyn Law. A true “lawyer for the poor,” Marvin found his first clients by frequenting the courthouses, picking up work no one else wanted. Then, as now, Marvin worked on contingency, only getting paid when his clients were awarded through a favorable settlement or verdict.

“What’s fascinating about the type of work we do is, just think of someone who’s poor, or disabled, or worse—and how are they going to be compensated for their injuries? Doctors and hospitals have access to the best lawyers money can buy. How is this poor person with limited resources going to get compensated?”

Marvin recently secured a $10 million verdict for the family of a mother of two whose physician failed to diagnose her breast cancer. The woman ultimately died from the disease. “Tragedies like this change peoples’ lives, and the goal of a settlement or verdict is to help keep a family intact after a tremendous loss and give them a chance for a new life.”

In another recent case a union carpenter from the Bronx plunged 40 feet down an uncovered stairwell when a plank supporting his scaffold snapped. As a result of the accident, the worker is now paraplegic. The case resulted in a $13 million settlement.

“Working with a client who has suffered a life changing and catastrophic injury, we look to bring some joy, continuity and even a sense of normalcy back into their lives. A favorable settlement or verdict can certainly do that, but our actions, and the small ways in which we can help, are just as valuable.”

Honors and Awards

2018 Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice – Plaintiffs “in the New York Metropolitan Area” by Best Lawyers(r).

2018 Best Lawyer Personal Injury by Best Lawyers(r).

2018 Best Lawyer Medical Malpractice by Best Lawyers(r).

2017 Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “in the New York Metropolitan Area” by Best Lawyers(r).

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Representing victims, helping people rebuild their lives.

Salenger, Sack, Kimmel & Bavaro has won over $500 million for our clients.

Personal injury litigation is first about peoples’ lives. A traumatic injury is not a real estate transaction, a business deal or a something else one chooses to do. People come to personal injury lawyers because they, or someone dear to them, has been the victim of an unexpected and terrible life-changing accident.